lawyer

Employment contracts should have the basic provisions that other contracts have. There should be some section evidencing that the parties both agree to the contract; a term called "mutual assent." This can be a simple statement saying to effect: "Now therefore, the parties hereby agree." This statement binds the parties to the contract and, absent other evidence to the contrary, indicates the parties read and understood the terms and agree to follow them.

Many employment contracts contain covenants not to compete with the employer should the employee leave the business. These will generally be upheld if the provision is reasonable. What is reasonable depends on the type of business and the type of employment. The non-compete agreement must be specific as to the duration and the types of activities that are prohibited. A non-compete agreement that is too overbearing, such as requiring the employee to not compete for a duration of over five years, will likely not be upheld.

Employment contracts are subject to the same defenses that are available under the law of other contracts. Therefore, an employment contract will be void if the person entering the contract did not have the capacity to enter the contract (such as if the person was under age or otherwise did not understand what they were signing). Other defenses include unconscionability, a term that means that the contract as written is void as against public policy. Forcing someone to work for free, for example, would be unconscionable.